


There's no room for you (it's already over)

by Anonymous



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Ambiguous/Open Ending, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Temporarily Unrequited Love, They're all the same age, dojae, side JohnYong, side tenwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Jaehyun tells him to let go of things if they don't make him happy. Doyoung listens.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Kudos: 21
Collections: Anonymous





	There's no room for you (it's already over)

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where I was going with this, I have nothing to do on Christmas!! Please forgive any factual errors and terrible grammar!!

Doyoung thinks everyone around him is probably annoyed with him constantly tapping his foot. Why was he getting nervous? He's always loved singing. Guaranteed he didn't audition for the musical last year, but he really wanted to try this year. "I'm tired of studying all the time and I'm tired of Chess. I want to do something else, I feel like I haven't found my calling yet!", he whines to his best friend Ten.  
"You're not even that old, Doie. People don't even know what they want to do even when they're out of college."

"I don't want to be one of them. Maybe I should try something new. How does robotics sound? Photography? I'll need a camera for that-"

"Why don't you try auditioning for this year's musical? You aren't a terrible singer and god knows we need better people after last year's mess." Ten says, "Maybe you could ask your brother for tips."

"That's not happening. I've never performed on a stage before! What if I don't like it?"

"Well, if you never try you'll never know."

So Doyoung's stuck here, 8:30 am on a Saturday morning waiting for his turn among a whole bunch of people he's never seen before. He was positive his classmate Kun would turn up, but he couldn't find him. He looks around, scanning the unfamiliar faces already forming groups to discuss things before they got called in. He sees someone sit down beside him, another boy, calling out to his other friend to come join him. He scoots to the side to make some space for the boy’s friend, who looks like the overly friendly and cheerful type, much like Ten. He hasn't stopped smiling, ever since Doyoung has seen him, his dimples and loud gestures commanding the attention of the other students around them.

"Kim Dongyoung! You're up next!"

Doyoung hurriedly picks up his bag and rushes towards the door. He's glad not everyone auditioning will be watching him but he's still nervous, knowing this is a bigger deal than him singing for fun all by himself in his room. 

"So, how did it go?" the boy with dimples inquires. "I don’t know. Terrible?" Doyoung replies.

"It'll be alright, I’m sure! What's your name? I've never seen you before," he pushes. "I'm Yoonoh."

"I'm Dongyoung. Nice to meet you." Doyoung says. He can't focus on what the guy is saying right now. Surely he must be in a different grade, Doyoung's never seen him or his friend around. He's too busy thinking about how his audition went and how he forgot his own name at the start.

"Oh god. I really want to get an important role this time. They told me that I need to improve last year, so I've been preparing hard. Missed most of my basketball practice for this. Thankfully, Sicheng here-" he gestures to his other friend who politely smiles at Doyoung- "got my back all this while. This time we're really gonna give it our best."

Doyoung doesn't remember his face from last year's musical, but he figures he's probably really good if he was confident of landing an important role. It makes him nervous, he's always wanted to be good at whatever he did. He hated failure so much, why was he still taking part in something he wasn't sure he'd be good at yet? He listens to Yoonoh talk to his friend about how he couldn't sleep last night because he was so excited for today, Sicheng nodding at everything he says. He moved his hands around way too much, occasionally waving at familiar faces. Doyoung saw how everyone looked at him from time to time, some glances lasting longer than others. He thinks Yoonoh is what everyone in his school would consider attractive. He was shorter than him, skin flawless, his hair pushed back, making him look older than Doyoung. A person who looked like they belonged on the stage, Doyoung thinks. He wishes them good luck and heads out, dreading the results on Monday.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Doyoung says, to which Ten rolls his eyes. "You sound really upset for someone who made it. Why are you still sulking?" "Because I have no idea how I made it. I forgot my own name and apologised five times for it. I cleared my throat too loudly and left without even saying thank you?" "Look, you still made it and that's what matters. Now if you won't get off my back and go practice with everyone else, I'll tell your mom we- no, you broke her vase when we were playing around." 

"It's so nice to see you again, Dongyoung!" A familiar voice greets Doyoung. He looks up to see Yoonoh, coming to sit beside him. He's alone and Doyoung wonders where his friend went, but he's quickly interrupted by Yoonoh telling him about his amazing audition. He realises there was something about Yoonoh, a sense of familiarity and warmth, that Doyoung found comfort in. He wasn't very outgoing, Ten being his best and only close friend. Maybe this wasn't going to be so terrible, Doyoung thinks, if he's got Yoonoh around. He made Doyoung feel like he belonged every time they met the following weeks for rehearsal. Yoonoh became friends with Ten, and they met during lunch and after school, along with his friends Johnny, Taeyong and Sicheng, which started to become a daily routine for the boys. Doyoung resigned from the chess club a week later and didn't feel terrible about it, after Yoonoh told him it was best to let go of something if it wasn't making him happy. Doyoung felt like Yoonoh entered his life like a hurricane, leaving behind a trail of new feelings that Doyoung never knew of before.

\---

"His father... he got into an accident so he's gone along with his mother to where he stays, I don't know when he'll return," Doyoung says, his voice shaky. "I still wish I got to say goodbye to him, Ten." 

\---

"Johnny, if you don't tell me why you can't stop smiling after you keep checking your phone every ten seconds, I'm going to assume you're cheating on me." Taeyong says, his cheeks red. His boyfriend laughs in response. "I love you too much, I would never cheat on you and you know it too. You'll know soon enough." Johnny says, as he plants a kiss on Taeyong's cheek, making everyone else at the table sigh. "I hate couples," a very drunk Ten announces. "You're worse when Sicheng is around," Doyoung retorts, sinking back into the sofa. "God, I fucking hate being single!" Even though he dislikes being dragged out on a cold winter evening during the holidays, there's no other place he'd rather be than with his best friends. Sicheng went home for the holidays, leaving behind a sulky Ten, who kept ordering more drinks. Doyoung thinks about how they're all in final year of University but he still has no idea what he wants to do with his life. Johnny was going to join the family business, Ten, Taeyong and Sicheng were majoring in dance. He loved his major, but he's not sure if it was his true calling, the choice of words bringing him back to simpler days where he'd faced the same dilemma. He smiles at the memory. 

"Oh my god, no FUCKING WAY?" Ten says, a little too loud, making everyone around their table look at him, "Is that you, Jung Yoonoh?" Doyoung doesn't believe it. He watches, dumbstruck as Johnny gets up to hug the same, the same Yoonoh he'd hung out with all those weeks, the same Yoonoh who made rehearsals fun, the same Yoonoh who he’d look forward to meeting everyday, the same Yoonoh who had gone so suddenly without saying goodbye. His heart was beating so fast, Doyoung was sure every person in the room could probably hear it. Yoonoh smiles at him, warm and comforting and it hits him. His best friend was finally back.

They scold him, a lot, for not contacting them back. He’d changed his name legally to Jaehyun, (long story, he’d said) so they couldn’t find him on social media, till he contacted Johnny that he was going to be back for the holidays. He’d kept it a secret, hoping to surprise everyone. Doyoung laughed along with them, pushing the thought of “why wouldn’t you contact me first” to the back of his mind. Johnny was friends with him way before they became friends. His heart hurt looking at his friend, who hadn’t stopped smiling, his ever so beautiful dimples on display. He’d grown taller, as tall as Doyoung now, the baby fat from his cheeks gone, but his eyes still bright and his laugh loud as ever. It pained him, the memories of them together came rushing back.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, what’s wrong?” Jaehyun asks, as they say goodbye to Johnny and Taeyong who offer to take Ten back home. They planned to meet again the next day, Jaehyun agreeing to tell them all about his life back home. When Doyoung announces that he would walk back home, Jaehyun agrees to tag along.

“Nothing. I just, don’t know what to say, I’m glad you came to visit.”

“Did you miss me, Doie?”

Doyoung flinches at the nickname. He wasn’t used to listening to Jaehyun’s voice again, but he really wanted to answer his question. He missed him a lot. He kept thinking about Jaehyun, kept talking about him to Ten and Sicheng, convincing himself he’d come back soon. A week maybe, or a month or two. They finished school together, and he still hadn’t come back. Doyoung thought about him everyday. He thought about him during the rehearsal, during the musical, and every day after, till one day he stopped thinking about him, everything becoming a distant memory.

“Why did you wait for so long, to contact m- one of us?” He asks, carefully. Jaehyun sighs. “ I should’ve contacted first. I was just too overwhelmed with the sudden change, the new people, new places, I really wanted to reach out, everything felt so foreign. I wanted to go back home so bad. It took me a while to get used to everything and everyone around me. I’m so sorry it took me so long to talk to one of you. I wish I’d done it sooner. I really missed you, Doyoung.”

Doyoung knew he had to return back to the place he called home now. He knew they’d keep in touch, maybe Jaehyun would visit more often. Maybe they could all fly and visit Jaehyun sometime, after University. He had his family back there, maybe new and better friends than him. He had already accepted the fact that Jaehyun wasn’t coming back, and all they could do was text or call once he left. It wouldn’t be the same ever, and it hurt him. His friend always told him to let go if something wasn’t making him happy, and this hurt him. It hurt him all those years ago, and with a heavy heart he learnt how to let go, for his own sake. He knew Jaehyun was waiting for an answer. A few years back, Yoonoh would’ve forced it out of him, but now they walked in silence. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Doyoung.” Jaehyun says, as they stop in front of Doyoung’s house. Doyoung wishes he’d say something more. He wishes he could tell him everything he was thinking about, just like old times. He reminds himself; things are different now. Jaehyun smiles at him, before turning around and walking back.

“I missed you too, Yoonoh.”


End file.
